Kudos go to Senator Richard Lugar for having the courage to take on obstructionist elements within his own party for putting power politics above national security. As the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, his thoughts with regard to the New START Treaty bear special attention. Here are some of his quotes, taken from a Foreign Policy report:

“At the moment, the Republican caucus is tied up in a situation where people don’t want to make choices. No one wants to be counted. No one wants to talk about it.”

“Every senator has an obligation in the national security interest to take a stand, to do his or her duty. Maybe people would prefer not to do his or her duty right now. … I’m advising that the treaty should come on the floor so people will have to vote aye or nay. I think when it finally comes down to it, we have sufficient number or senators who do have a sense of our national security. This is the time, this is the priority. Do it.”

“[If the vote is delayed, there will be] endless hearings, markup, back to trying to get some time on the floor… It will be some time before the treaty is ever heard from again.”

See yesterday’s post for how you can help support Senator Lugar’s courageous call to action.

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About Martin Hellman

I am a professor at Stanford University, best known for my invention of public key cryptography -- the technology that protects the secure part of the Internet, such as electronic banking. But, for almost 30 years, my primary interest has been how fallible human beings can survive possessing nuclear weapons, where even one mistake could be catastrophic. My latest project is a book with the audacious subtitle "Creating True Love at Home & Peace on the Planet." Its soon to open website explains: https://anewmap.com.

One Response to A Profile in Courage: Senator Lugar on New START

Dear Professor:
Thank you for writing about defusing the nuclear risk. Senator Lugar deserves a courage award for being willing to stand up to his fellow republican colleagues by encouraging them to pass the New START Treaty immediately “in this session of Congress.”

Please encourage your colleagues to speak out in favor of passage of the New START Treaty in op-ed pieces throughout the country. Facts and truth must trump the deceptive talking points that confuse Americans about the value of this important Treaty.